The Go-between
by wotan
Summary: A short story in anticipation of Valentine's day. Ginny should be concentrating on her homework, but isn't ...


My thanks to the Minx, once again, for her proof-reading. Short though the story is, she managed to improve it ...

The Go-between

Ginny sat in the common room, struggling with her Astronomy homework. It was getting late, and planets, moons and comets were not her thing. Her mind was elsewhere - the Valentine's day Ball was tomorrow evening and nobody had asked her. More to the point, Harry hadn't asked her. In fact Harry had been avoiding her for most of the day. She stared blankly at the scroll in front of her, as she wondered for the thousandth time if he would invite her.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Her heart quickened a little as Harry appeared and looked around the room. And then he headed in her direction, looking a little nervous. Hope welled up in Ginny. She stared down at her parchment and tried to act as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Hi! Mind if I sit down?" asked Harry.

Ginny shook her head. She scribbled away, keeping her eyes on her work.

"What are you doing?"

"Stupid Astronomy homework." She looked up at him. "What are the four main moons of Jupiter called?"

"Can't remember" said Harry laughing, "that was last year."

"Oh. Perhaps I'd better just put 'Jupiter's moon are so well known, that there is no need to name them'" said Ginny.

"Good idea."

She set her findings down carefully, writing the 'J' of Jupiter with a big flourish. And then she looked back up at Harry. He was looking at her, grinning sheepishly. She smiled back. A long silence ensued.

"Have you, er, got anything particular planned?" said Harry finally, avoiding her eyes.

"What, right now?" asked Ginny, feeling her legs start to tingle.

"Well, today. Or tomorrow, say."

"No." She bit her lip. Dare she hope?

"Well then, there's something I'd like to ask you. Only it's a bit embarrassing." He looked increasingly uncomfortable.

"I won't be embarrassed Harry, I promise."

"Not you, me" said Harry, looking even more awkward.

"I'd never do anything to embarrass you Harry." Her heart was starting to thud.

"Oh, okay, well the thing is, I don't know if you've forgotten or not, but it's the Valentine's Ball tomorrow evening and ..."

"Yes?" said Ginny, her lip trembling.

"Well, I just wondered if ... if you would, well, do you think that ..."

"Yes?" whispered Ginny.

"I daren't ask Hermione myself. Do you think that you could ask her if she would go - "

Ginny's world crashed around her. She stared at Harry, she saw his lips moving, but she didn't hear him any more. He wanted to go with Hermione. Not her. That was why he'd been avoiding her. She fought back sudden tears and shock - she wasn't going to cry in front of him, wasn't going to get angry in front of him.

"So is that okay?" asked Harry.

"What?" said Ginny, weakly, as the common room receded and the universe turned into just herself and Harry. Her head began to pound.

"What I just said. Will you do it?"

"I'm sorry Harry, I ... I ... I didn't hear you properly." She rubbed at her eyes, knowing she was going to cry, in spite of her resolve. Harry looked anxiously at her. 

"Gin are you okay? I only asked if you'd ask Hermione to go to the ball with Ron. He really wants to take her, but he's just too scared to ask her. And he's too embarrassed to ask you to ask her. So he asked me to ask you to ask her. If that makes any sense?"

"Ron? And Hermione? A-a-ask her for him?" stammered Ginny.

Harry nodded, looking at Ginny with concern.

"Oh yes, yes of course" said Ginny suddenly, staring at him with wide eyes. The thumping in her head vanished and she beamed.

"Great" said Harry, smiling back at her. "I knew you would - you're a sport." He jumped up, punched her on the arm and hurried away up the stairs.

Ginny sat, rubbing at her arm. She sighed. Just a Go-between. Everybody's favourite little sister, but nobody's favourite anybody. She decided the homework could wait until breakfast and was about to retreat to bed when Ron appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He was smiling broadly. She realised he must have been on the stairs, waiting for Harry to report back.

"Ron Weasley. What a coward you are!" said Ginny, intent on extracting some punishment from him.

Ron looked a bit shame-faced and then nodded contritely. "You will ask her though, won't you?"

"Pretty please?"

"Pretty please. With Chocolate Frogs on." He produced a king-sized Chocolate Frog from behind his back.

"All right" sighed Ginny, taking the frog. "But you don't deserve her. Honestly, a boy too scared to ask the girl he loves to a Ball."

"Likes" said Ron, quickly.

Ginny put her head on one side and looked teasingly at her brother. "I don't know if 'likes' is sufficient."

"Likes a lot?"

"More."

"Really, really likes" tried Ron desperately.

Ginny shook her head. Ron turned an interesting shade of scarlet, his face rivalling his hair for colour.

"Try again" ordered Ginny.

"Lo- , lo- " 

"Go on" said Ginny, "you can do it. It's not a long word."

"Loves" said Ron, very quietly. He let out a long deep breath.

Ginny smiled at him. "There, see, it wasn't that hard. But whether Hermione will want to go to a dance with somebody too scared to ask her face to face ... whether _any_ self-respecting girl would, I really don't know." 

Ron looked worried.

Ginny decided she'd teased him enough. "Hermione will go with you, don't worry big brother" she said kindly.

"Brilliant!" said Ron. He grinned and started back towards the stairs. And then he turned.

"Gin?"

"Mmm?"

"Harry asked me to ask you ... if you'd go to the Ball with him ..."

T H E E N D


End file.
